Free Republic

After a 3½ hour drive from La Quinta, talking to his employees by iPhone and checking Internet news reports, aircraft designer Burt Rutan faced reporters and cameras less than a mile from where a test site explosion killed two of his workers and critically injured four more. "We were doing a test we believed was completely safe," Rutan said, visibly emotional. "We don't know why it exploded." Rutan told the reporters he hadn't yet had a chance to inspect the explosion site and was heading to Bakersfield to be with the four injured workers and their families at Kern Medical...

Pratt & Whitney Canada's PW308 turbofan engine is to power Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo's (SS2) carrier aircraft White Knight II (WK2). The maiden flight of WK2 with its two 6,900lb-rated (30kN) PW308 high by-pass ratio engines is planned for next year, however the company does not specify a date for start of commercial operations, which was to be May 2009. Virgin Galactic's concept White Knight II, SpaceShipTwo system concept The engine was selected by The Spaceship Company (TSC), a joint venture between the Virgin group and Scaled Composites, which will own the intellectual property rights to the WK2/SS2 launch system. "The...

Red Tape For SpaceShipTwo SS1 has launched a new era in civil aviation that could lead to civil spaceflight. Desktop available 1024x768 by Irene Mona Klotz Cape Canaveral (UPI) Apr 26, 2005 Last week, aspiring personal spaceflight operator Virgin Galactic quietly delayed the target date for launching its first commercial suborbital spaceflight by a year or so -- not surprising considering the scope and technical complexity of building a space vehicle for tourists instead of professional astronauts. What did raise eyebrows during the congressional hearing on commercial space -- which is where Will Whitehorn, Virgin Galactic's president, dropped his news...

Rutan Rocks....... "Maybe that explains why he, and Branson, have already signed up -- and not just for themselves: each has also reserved a seat for his father. I guess that's a pretty good expression of confidence in the program. After all, Rutan has already said, if a flight was risky, he could be safer and crew it with "a lawyer. Or a liberal."

KINDERSLEY, SASK. - People in Kindersley, Sask., hope to get a clearer idea this week about the status of the da Vinci project, which aims to send the first Canadian rocket into space. The Toronto-based da Vinci team had planned to enter the X Prize contest, a private space race, with a launch from the Kindersley airport on Oct. 2. The launch was put on hold indefinitely, however, because an important part of the spacecraft hadn't arrived. Organizers have said they still plan to launch, even though the $10 million US has since been won by an American space venture....

Mojave CA (UPI) Oct 5, 2004 The world's newest spaceship is back at its spotless hangar at the Mojave Airport, serving as a backdrop for dozens of television news shows. The day after its flawless third flight out of the atmosphere - a mission that captured a $10-million cash prize for its owners - it was quiet. Only a handful of the thousands of guests who came to witness the flight remained in town. Still spanking new, SpaceShipOne has fulfilled its mission, forever retiring the notion that only governments can fly people beyond the atmosphere. Spaceship creator Burt Rutan plans...